With all of the moisture we have, it’s going to be a few weeks before we see farmers out in the field.
A key concern for farmers throughout the growing season is always insect and disease damage.
Brent Flaten is a Crops Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Agriculture.
He says the Province has released an Insect Forecast Map for Grasshoppers and Wheat Midge; both are currently available on the government’s website.
"The grasshopper forecast is based on adult grasshoppers count in the fall," he said. "That would have been the counts last fall in 2017, and generally very low numbers except for interestingly enough in around the meadow lake."
He notes generally we are in a low part of the cycle right now for grasshoppers.
The Wheat Midge Forecast Map shows a lot of change from last year.
Flaten says in doing the survey last fall they took plugs of soil and looked for live Wheat Midge larvae in the samples.
"Because of last year's dry weather combined with parasitism, the wheat midge forecast is actually very low similar low to the grasshopper map."
He notes last year’s Pea Leaf Weevil survey showed it showing up right across the Southern part of the province from the Manitoba Border to the Alberta Border.
Source : Discoverestevan